Over the last fifty years, Australia has witnessed migration levels that now make it as one of the most multicultural countries in the world. As you speak to European migrants who came during the baby boom period, they relay to you just how hard they had it. As new generations of migrants arrive, their stories may differ; however, their thankfulness and appreciation of their country does not.

Major strengths of our cities that have been recognized by livability reports consist of the following:

Low population densities

With a density of only two people per square kilometer, many Australians have grown up in quarter acre houses with backyards and spacious living arrangements;

Sustainable levels of population growth

Our current population of twenty-one million has steadily increased, without forcing levels of strain that major cities in the Australasia region have experienced;

Consistently low unemployment levels

Since the Global Financial Crisis, the country has been able to maintain unemployment levels below 6%; and

Public Transport Infrastructure

In the past, Australia has been able to maintain its attractive living standards as it has not experienced issues such as mass urbanization, famine, war or other such externalities that threaten the livelihoods of cities.

While everything currently appears to be in harmony, this many be tested in the coming years. Our now sustainable Australian cities will be experiencing issues such as the decline of the mining boom, increasing population growth in major cities, the ageing of our population and the push for densification.

What contemporary barometers do you think should be employed in measuring Livability?

Steven Petsinis is an Urban Planning graduate from Melbourne, Australia.
He has been involved in Urban Research and Development projects in
Medellin, Colombia and Saigon, Vietnam and is currently pursuing his
masters in Melbourne, Australia. His main interests lie in land use and
social planning, sustainability, as well as studies involving
globalization and it's effect on third world communities. He has recently
spent one year travelling throughout North and South America, as well as
Europe, where he has gathered material and inspiration for his upcoming
blogs for The Grid.